Strangely, I’ve never played a pure Kirby game. I have, however, turned my hand to Kirby’s Dream Course (a strange mini-golf game) on the SNES, Kirby’s Pinball Land on the Game Boy, and Kirby Canvas Curse on the DS; plus put the adorable pink blob to good use in Smash Bros. All were good in their own special way, but none could be classed as a traditional Kirby game.
With Epic Yarn, Kirby returns to his roots. This is as traditional as you can get, and you move Kirby from left to right, bouncing off various ledges and blocks in a bid to collect as many shiny things as possible before reaching the end of the stage. Of course, if it were that simple there would be no need for the ream of text you see below.
As with Paper Mario, Nintendo has wrapped this title up in a unique style; so much so that the look itself will become as much a part of discussion as level design and gameplay mechanics. Again like Paper Mario, it’s so interwoven that it affects both of these directly, as Kirby, his environment, and even his enemies, are all made from material.
The whole world looks as though my wife’s craft room has finally collapsed in on itself and evolved its own ecosystem: creatures wander about depicted in strands of wool; backgrounds are assembled from patches of cloth and sown together, with the seams themselves providing purchase for Kirby. It’s a delightful looking place, producing a wonderful image that appears two-dimensional whilst at the same time achieving a subtle depth as if layering thin pieces of cloth over one another.
Kirby can no longer inhale those around him; instead he can now use his own wool as a whip attack. Tapping this attack will cause enemies to explode into their component threads, whilst holding down the button will pull them to him, with Kirby then holding them above his head as a ball of yarn which can be thrown to break, block or destroy further foes.
The whip’s not just an offensive weapon either, as the embellishments that can be found throughout the land (such as buttons, zips and tabs) can be used in conjunction. Some will allow players to swing from them as though Indiana Jones, whilst others reveal their secrets as portholes into the layers of fabrics behind, or even the whole background itself can be pulled and ruffled towards our hero compressing entire sections of the level.
Some of the most charming moments were when exploring these other layers, with Kirby’s mass bulging through, picking up the various jewels secreted away behind the scenes.
Though there is no longer the chance to suck up others to absorb their powers, our rotund hero still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Hold down the jump button when in mid-air and his strands will reform themselves into a balloon, dive under water and you’ll see him quickly spin himself into a submarine. All these little titbits go together to create one of the most delightful platformers ever devised.
For those not impressed with woollen submersibles, maybe you’d be more taken by another of Kirby’s forms: Mecha-Kirby. Upon reaching the end of one stage, we were suddenly reformed into a large, circular tank which took up the majority of the screen and fired missiles the size of a Wii-mote. To top it all off we then fought a dragon, so it’s hard to argue that Good Feel and HAL Laboratory aren’t attempting to craft a little something for everyone.
On a very objective level, putting aside the colourful trimmings, Epic Yarn is shaping up to be an incredibly solid 2D platformer, full of variety. The addition of a co-op mode where two of you vie for each level’s secrets simply adds to the enjoyment, although the tale for two is fundamentally the same as it is for one.
Of course, you can’t ignore the fabric for too long, and it only serves to enhance what already feels like a confident return for Kirby with a decidedly playful mood.
Since forsaking my Wii, the one thing I have missed out on is a good platformer. Whilst I may have treated Crackdown as an evolution of the genre, a tradition jump-‘em-up has eluded me with very little on the Xbox or PlayStation cutting the mustard. With Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Nintendo once again prove they are the company to turn to.
I make my living as a programmer at a British games developer. In my spare time I try and spread myself between writing, gaming, drumming, goalkeeping, rolling dice and keeping my hair blue. Somewhere around that my wife fits in.
Disclaimer: the views expressed are my own and do not neccessarily reflect those of my employer. "
